Lagartijeando

Argentinian Mati ‘Lagartijeando’ Zundel combines traditional instruemnts and styles with modern methods in his album Amazonico Gravitante. Unique sounds are created, such as in Aero Tinku, in which pan-flutes are placed over a pounding house beat to construct a mix between old and new. Perhaps this is a metaphor for many parts of Latin-America? A rapidly modernising region that is still keen to hold onto its rich history. Zundel puts all of this into his music; not only by amalgamating a diverse set of instuments, but styles too! He bounces from Tango to Reggaeton and many more, with ease, imprinting his own exclusive design on the continent’s music.

Buy the album here.

Or listen to some of its awesomeness below.

No Llores No!

Aero Tinku

Señor Montecostez

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Just a Band – Huff + Puff

 

Kenyan dance trio Just A Band take every aspect of their work very seriously. They recognise that music isn’t solely about music anymore. Sure, it’s important, but the whole performative spectrum must be mastered if an artist(s) is to be successful, especially the visual and artistic aesthetics.

East Africa isn’t the first place you’d turn to, in search of innovative house/electronic music; but since 2006 Blinky, Dan and Jim have made it their mission to undo this perception by nuancing a competitive genre with their own unique blend of African flavours.

Everything about this group is oddly fascinating. From their fictional back-story:

“Dan had just returned to Kenya from three years of travelling with a Touareg caravan led by Hazim Barghai…Bill had no idea where he came from, having spent 13 years of his life under hypnosis. He came to his senses sometime in 2002, finding himself living in an abandoned convent in Limuru…Jim spent many years of his youth serving Arabic coffee in the coffee and opium dens of Kilgoris”

To the prerequisites for their latest video (which can be viewed below):

1. It has to tell a story
2. Everyone in the band has to be in it.
3. You get only one cut per minute.
4. Every cut has to have a movie reference.
5. It has to be done in 14 days.

Check out Huff + Puff below, which is part of their LP ’82’, released in 2010.

Huff + Puff

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Roman Rauch – Theme From Haze

How about this for a pulsating deep house banger? The progression of the beat and the perpetual bongo drums really draws you in, in an almost hypnotic sense. There’s a heavy Detroit influence in his style too, which is apparent in Theme from Haze.

The track is by Austrian house producer Roman Rauch and will be part of his Birth Of Memory EP which will be released on February 21st on German label Philpot.

Theme From Haze

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Le Youth

Despite the fact it’s January and everyone is moaning about various things, here is a slice of summer to remind us that really, things are all good. Le Youth (aka Wes James) is a DJ/Producer from Los Angeles, and gave us a heads up last week on his new remix of one of our tracks of the year, “Off My Mind” by Moon Boots. He puts a summer house twist on this disco gem, and somehow makes it more danceable than it already is, which is no mean feat. His other tracks, notably the two free downloads “End Of Summer” and “No Matter Who You Are” have a real Daft Punk/Surkin/French disco vibe without being copyist. Close your eyes and it’s July.

Moon Boots – “Off My Mind (Le Youth Remix)”

Le Youth – “End Of Summer”

Le Youth – “No Matter Who You Are”

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PLEZIER

Thanks to Vresh for the heads up on this, amazing EP from French producer Plezier,  complete with a great remix from River Gbeh. Future-garage brilliance. Stream below!

River Gbeh – “Suah”

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ЯYAD

During the continuing rise in popularity of a wide spectrum of house and techno nights here in Sheffield, including Cargo, Drumro[ll], Downlo, De:Bug and Collect! to name a few, it’s always a good thing to see the incarnation of a new night. ЯYAD will be on the last friday of the month upstairs in DQ, and is the brainchild of a group of young promotors with a focus on underground deep tech house and techno. Armed with a wealth of musical knowledge and experience from nights such as Departure in Manchester, plus the vision to bring some of the most respected and talented acts to Sheffield, it’s safe to say this is the start of big things.

Thursday 19th January – Kremlin FREE PARTY @ The Harley
HOT SINCE 82 (Noir Music / Off Recordings)
+ Secret Headliner
CARGO
DE:BUG
DRUMRO[ll]
ЯYAD RESIDENTS
Doors 10pm.
More info on the artists on the Facebook event.
This is a free party to prepare for…

Friday 27th January – ЯYAD launch party @ DQ
DARIUS SYROSSIAN (ViVa / Get Physical / 8 Bit)
TRISTAN DA CUNHA (Backtobasics / One Records / Throwing Shapes)
DE:BUG
plus residents
OLIVER DROPS (Departure)
LUK’ANT
JUSTIN GARDNER
MARREN
Doors 10.30pm.
Tickets are £6 advance and are available from Resident Adviser and Skiddle, plus ticket sellers.
More info on all the artists on the Facebook event.

Darius Syrossian – “Favela Kids”

Keep an eye out on the ЯYAD page for future annoucements!

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Banana Hill Mixtape #001

We’re happy to present our first ever mixtape, which was recorded on the fly. Tracklisting below!

M.I.A – Banana Skit
Hudson Mohawke – Thank You
Ifan Dafydd – Miranda
Kelly Rowland – Dilemma (BNRY Remix)
Floating Points ft. Fatima – Mind
DJ JD Sports – Babylon Blues
Dirty Paraffin – OKSHARP!MALUMKOOLKAT
Moon Boots – Off My Mind
Dauwd – What’s There
Disclosure – My Intention Is War!
Kraak & Smaak – The Storm
Jamie xx – Far Nearer
Salome De Bahia – Cada Vez
Afro Medusa – Pasilda (Kneedeep Club Mix)

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Disclosure – Flow

I’ve been waiting to hear what the other side to Disclosure‘s upcoming single “Tenderly” would sound like, and fortunately it seems they’re not going to stop churning out truly incredible tracks. “Flow” is another future-garage masterpiece which I actually prefer to “Tenderly”, complete with wonderfully deep bass and vocals that sit perfectly in the mix. Amazing.
“Tenderly/Flow” comes out on the 30th January via Make Mine, both digitally and as a limited 7″, which you can pre-order here.

Disclosure – “Flow”

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Gang Colours

June 2011 saw the 12″ release of an amazing EP from Gang Colours entitled “In Your Gut Like A Knife”. Though the name might suggest some kind of sonic assault, the reality was four tracks of lovely Gold Panda-esque electronica, that’s summed up pretty well on his page by “…Burial on a soft, sunny dancefloor…”, check it out here. Fastforward to the 27th February and we’ll see the release of his debut LP, “The Keychain Collection”, on Brownswood Recordings, with the first single “Fancy Restaurant” released a week ealier on 12″ accompanied by remixes from Machine Drum, Ifan Dafydd and Deft. Warm and soulful with a distinct RnB vibe, “Fancy Restaurant” is wonderfully chilled out and had me hitting the replay button over and over. Previews of the remixes should be around soon, and he’s also annouced his first live UK dates:

11th Feb – HMV Next Big Thing Show w/ Kwes – The Garage, London
7th March – The Castle, Manchester
8th March – Vortex, Dalston

Gang Colours – “Fancy Restaurant”

Also check out another of his tracks…

Gang Colours – “On Compton Bay”

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Chameo

I feel like we don’t post enough disco these days, so it’s wonderful that to start the year we can point you in the direction of this feel-good stomper from Danish producer Chameo. “WOW” is a splendid slice of upbeat house that is crafted perfectly for the dancefloor, filled with interesting fills that really set it apart from a lot of similar stuff around at the minute. The good news is that it’s available as a free download from his Facebook page, and with nearly 1200 plays in just a couple of days it looks like it’s onwards and upwards!

Chameo – “WOW”

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